«Young man, watch yourself»
Colonel Christophe Mervilus (January 3, 1919 — May 13, 1987)
«Christophe Mervilus was the best educated officer in the FAd’H», Col. Charles T. Williamson, The U.S. Naval Mission to Haiti,1959–1963, page 136
He was taken to Saint Louis de Gonzague, from where he was awarded a silver medal in 1936. His mother hired a cart that day, because many books accompanied the heavy medal. The avenue du Président Trujillo (Main Street) in 1936 represents a global boulevard. There is a parade of nationalities in the commercial signs. With most of the old Italian families a certain courtesy, quite Mediterranean, which has disappeared from our habits. Italian, Arabic, German and Jewish lived together in the old capital.
After Saint-Louis, he attended the Ecole des Sciences Appliquées, the ancestor of the Faculty of Sciences. In 1938, “lack of operating budget”, the School closed its doors. This situation, along with the lack of premises, has occurred several times in our university history. At the end of 1938, an American mission was there, at the request of the Haitian government, to organize the Military Academy. First competition, November 1938.
Cadet training lasted from January 1939 to July 1941. Some were admitted to advanced infantry courses at Fort Benning, Georgia (USA). Others will be trained in Alabama (USA) for aerial combat.
In 1951, the former librarian and geographic map instructor at the Military Academy was appointed a scholarship holder for Spain. At the time, carrying the rank of lieutenant, he was also responsible for correspondence between Headquarters and the corresponding institutions in South America. Winner twice (Madrid and Zaragoza), he was invited to Salamanca to attend the courses of the father of Spanish philology, Ramón Menendez Pidal (1869–1968). He finished 1st in the class (Philology) on the Spaniards, at home, in their own language. From June 14 to October 22, 1957, the professor of Spanish, of commercial arithmetic-mathematician formidable from Saint-Louis-, the former secretary general of the Violette Athletic Club and captain in the Army is in charge of the Department (current ministry ! ) of Commerce and the National Economy.
According to historian Leslie Péan, on November 27, 1960, five days after the start of the student strike, Duvalier retired progressive colonels known to be left-wing such as Paul Laraque, Christophe Mervilus, Hamilton Garoute …
In the mid-1960s, smiling, he replied to General Breton Claude who was waiting for him at the exit of the College Classique, in Lalue, in front of the Duffort lane. The powerful messenger informed him that His Excellency had appointed him the official translator of the Presidency. In 1966, After the consecutive translation of the speech of President François Duvalier and that of Galo Plaza Laso- former President of Ecuador- at the National Palace, the future Secretary General of the OAS, breaking the rules of protocol, headed to the interpreter-translator to congratulate him warmly. Testimony of his former student and friend, Dr. Pierre Montès.
Gilbert Mervilus, dec 2018
Note: «In our conversations we spoke very little of his career in the Army, from which he retired as colonel; probably because there was too much to say about Spanish and our interest in this language was total», Lyonel Desmarattes, Washington, D.C. May 30, 1987; Page 4, Tuesday June 9, 1987, Le Nouvelliste # 33013
October 1, 1921, inauguration of the Ecole Militaire d’Haïti… https://gilbertmervilus.medium.com/october-1-1921-inauguration-of-the-ecole-militaire-dha%C3%AFti-97b1dbd5ad51
